Hiker takes refuge from the virus on an empty Scottish island

What do you do when you're nearly three years into an 8,700-mile trek, homeless, penniless, and then a global pandemic halts everything?

This was the predicament faced by Christian Lewis when his mission to walk the entire British coastline for charity was abruptly interrupted by the pandemic.

Without a home to return to and armed with only a fragile tent in one of the UK's most remote and windswept areas, he was at risk of running into serious trouble.

Yet, thanks to the generosity of strangers, he’s ended up in what may be one of the safest and most peaceful places on earth to weather the storm – a solitary cottage on a tiny island all to himself.

“It’s absolutely perfect. I couldn’t ask for a better place to be during lockdown,” Lewis tells Dinogo from Hildasay Island. “The only company I have are a few sheep and a variety of birds.”

Hildasay, one of the Scalloway Islands, covers less than half a square mile and has remained mostly uninhabited since the late 1800s.

‘I couldn’t ask for a better place’

Lewis receives water deliveries from a local fisherman named Victor and gathers food by foraging. He occasionally makes boat trips to the Shetland mainland for other necessities.

“It’s only about a half-hour by small boat to the mainland,” he explains. “But the waters can be treacherous, so we have to be selective about when we make the trip back.”

Lewis started his adventure on August 1, 2017, at Llangennith Beach in Swansea, and made his way up the west coast toward Scotland. Along the way, he took a brief detour to Northern Ireland to return a message in a bottle tossed into the Irish Sea 20 years earlier, which he found washed up on the Scottish shore.

During his time in Northern Ireland, he decided to walk its coastline before heading back to Scotland, including the Shetland Islands, located 100 miles north of the mainland, deep in the North Atlantic.

Lewis was nearing the end of his journey through the Shetland Islands, which comprises 300 islands and skerries, only 16 of which are inhabited, when he found out that he could not continue due to coronavirus restrictions.

Although he managed to steer clear of the constant news coverage of the pandemic during his journey, he gathered bits of information from the people he met along the way.

Life on the island

“I knew the lockdown was imminent,” he says. “I had to make a serious decision. I couldn’t go home because I had no home to return to.”

“With the help of some kind locals from Shetland, who lent me a boat, I made my way to the island and began living off the land,” he says.

“Now I can just head down to the shore and gather a plateful of mussels if I feel like it, so I have no worries about food.”

Though he initially camped in a tent, Lewis was later handed the keys to an empty house when the owners learned of his presence on the remote island and offered their support.

“It doesn’t have electricity or gas,” he says. “It’s very basic, but it’s sheltered from the wind and has a nice fire.”

“We (he and Jet) plan to stay here for the foreseeable future.”

Under the current guidelines, people in the UK are only permitted to leave their homes for essential reasons, such as purchasing groceries, getting one form of exercise daily, addressing medical needs, or assisting a vulnerable person.

The UK government also recommends keeping a “two-meter distance from anyone outside your household,” but this is a concern Lewis doesn’t need to worry about, as he’s a boat ride away from the nearest person.

While he might have been disappointed that his ambitious journey has been paused indefinitely, Lewis is taking a relaxed, go-with-the-flow approach to it all, much as he has throughout his walk from the very start.

He packed up and left Wales just days after deciding to embark on the challenge, following years of hardship since transitioning to civilian life after leaving the British Army’s Parachute Regiment.

After becoming homeless, Lewis received support from the armed forces charity Ssafa, but chose to hit the road instead when he faced losing his home again and couldn’t bring himself to ask for more help.

“I struggled immensely with anxiety and depression in the past,” he admits. “I knew something had to change, so it was really a spur-of-the-moment decision.”

He set up a fundraising page for the charity just before starting his journey and was only a few thousand pounds short of reaching his £100,000 goal at the time of writing.

“I’d received a lot of support from Ssafa, so it felt like a no-brainer to do something in return for them, and we’ve been doing really well so far,” says Lewis.

“I made the decision and was gone within days. I didn’t overthink it, and that’s probably why I’ve made such good progress in terms of distance.”

“I started out alone, but I picked up Jet along the way [in Irvine, Scotland] and essentially adopted her.”

“She’s been with me for almost two years now. I don’t think there’s a more seasoned hiking dog out there.”

While Lewis primarily survives by fishing and foraging, he occasionally receives food from kindhearted supporters who have followed his journey through his Facebook page Chris Walks the UK or his Twitter account.

Interrupted journey

“As I progressed in the journey, more people began to hear about it. And they started offering their help in all sorts of ways,” he explains.

“People have been providing food for me and Jet, as well as offering any assistance they can,” he adds.

“It’s truly heartwarming to witness the generosity we’ve been receiving. I never anticipated any of this when I set off – I thought I’d be surviving on bugs for the next two years.”

Instead of bugs, Lewis enjoys stews, vegetables, and any shellfish or crab he can gather from the coast.

“If I can, I’ll carry some meat,” he adds. “People always ask me how heavy my backpack is. I have no idea, but it’s definitely heavy.”

Although Lewis initially estimated the challenge would take two years, it’s been a longer journey than he first thought.

“It’s taken me nearly two years to complete all the [Scottish] islands because they’re so desolate and physically demanding, especially in winter,” he says.

“But Jet handles it all with ease. We’ve developed a special bond since we’re never apart. She sleeps right in my sleeping bag,” he adds.

After walking every day for so long, is Lewis losing steam now that he’s holed up on a remote island? Not at all.

“Even though I’m not walking or making progress along the coast, the journey hasn’t stopped,” he emphasizes.

“As soon as the coronavirus pandemic is over and the UK comes out of lockdown, I’ll pick up right where I left off, on the mainland Shetland coast, and keep going,” he says.

“It won’t be long before I’m back on the mainland, heading toward the east coast,” he adds.

Lewis stays active by setting new personal challenges as frequently as possible.

“I’m still going to walk,” he says. “Maybe I’ll walk around the island 15 times in a single day.”

He also incorporates a “Rocky-style” training routine into his days, occasionally tossing rocks around to strengthen underused muscles.

“Repeating the same movement every day eventually takes its toll,” he says. “I started noticing myself slowing down, so I made sure to do my training routine this morning.”

Like many of us, Lewis has found that being forced to stay in one place has given him the opportunity to do things he’d usually put off, like reading up on topics that interest him but were sidelined due to his constant walking.

Even though he’s spending this lockdown far from his hometown, Lewis says he’s inspired by how people are using their time during what is a challenging period for much of the world.

Benefits of self-isolation

“I’m seeing a real shift in things,” he says, explaining that he’s been staying updated on events in the UK through his social media feeds.

“People are posting videos of themselves doing activities with their families, being creative. I’m seeing more musicians sharing their work too,” he observes.

“And I think one of the positive aspects coming from this situation is that people are truly coming together. And that’s beautiful, isn’t it? It’s just amazing,” he adds.

Of course, Lewis is no stranger to self-isolation, and he believes that stepping away from the pressures of modern life has completely transformed his own existence.

“I think taking a break from that kind of stress can really benefit your mental well-being,” he says.

“It’s definitely made a huge difference in my life. It’s one thing to be doing it at home, but Jet and I have been living like this for quite a while now.”

Though his time in Scotland has been challenging, Lewis is thoroughly enjoying the experience, especially appreciating the country’s access laws, which allow him to camp just about anywhere.

“Setting up my tent in some of the places I have, it really feels like there haven’t been many people around for ages,” he reflects.

“There’s something deeply spiritual about it. Camping all over the UK has taught me a great deal about myself,” he shares.

“It’s truly epic, in so many different ways,” he says.

Although he admits to missing his family, especially his daughter Caitlin, who was heading off to college when he first set out, Lewis has never once considered giving up or returning home.

“My family visits me now and then, and my daughter will come to see me too. That’s really all I need,” he says.

For now, Lewis is stuck on Hildasay, but he says he’s making the most of it, even though the winds can be fierce, and during the final weeks of winter, it was dark by 3 p.m. every day.

“I’m not sure when I’ll be able to continue the journey,” he admits. “It might be another year and a half before I finish, but who knows?”

“For now, I’ll just stay on this island, keep learning new things, and continue posting because I know it brings smiles to others,” he says.